Reloading Bench - Top Surface?

My next bench will have a 1/16" sheet metal on it with a bent front edge. You glue it down with ordinary silicone, with some weight on it, till it dries. Then you finish it with 2 coats of varnish!! Looks cool and is durable.
You get the 1/16 sheet metal at any steel sales company. Some times they will shear it to size and bend it for a small fee.
 
3/4 plywood with a steel top. Press, measure and trimmer are bolted to it. My actual work bench underneath is strong enough to support a truck.

My reloading "plate" is removable from my bench to allow other things to be done that are not reloading related. Also makes it portable if the need arises.

Steel is available at home depot.
 
I used 2x4's and 3/4" plywood to build the raw bench and then used 3/4" birch ply stained and then polyurathane on the tops , its rock solid and good and smooth
DSC03601.jpg
 
I just layered 2 sheets of 1 inch plywood ontop of each other, glued and screwed them together. Then went on to put about 7 layers of urethane coat on it. All the knots are now filled and its is a smooth finish.
 
Tumbleweed said:
I use a sheet of hardboard - it's like the stuff they make pegboard out of, but without the holes. Very hard & smooth, and easy to clean up. I wish I could think of what it's called, but it's about 3/16 thick and in every building supplies joint. Cheap like borscht, and easily replaceable if it got damaged or worn. Mine has been on for ten years, and shows no signs of wear.
Click to expand...

Hard board all the way. Nail your fron trim piece so as that it sits quarter inch high. Drop the hardboard in and tack with a few finishing nails. I clear coat the hard board as well...
 
2X4 laminated truss beam cutoffs.(it varies in width depending on the project beam it was cut from)

Most major cities have one business making it and there's a lot of cutoffs that end up as firewood.
Theres's even 2X6 and 2X8 cutoffs available but they're awful heavy stuff.
 
outoftowner said:
I just layered 2 sheets of 1 inch plywood ontop of each other, glued and screwed them together. Then went on to put about 7 layers of urethane coat on it. All the knots are now filled and its is a smooth finish.
Click to expand...

A good solid, inexpensive solution. I left mine unfinished - it's a working surface, and I didn't want it slippery, nor did I want a surface I'd feel compelled to refresh when damaged.
 
Mine is a double layer of good on one side 3/4 inch plywood, glued and screwed, with two coats of high gloss white paint. Unless I'm sloppy and allow oil to sit, the finish just wipes up.
 
I just bought a piece of kitchen countertop from the manufacturer (second grade quality). I even got it to match my kitchen counters! Looks real ###y!
 
outoftowner said:
I just layered 2 sheets of 1 inch plywood ontop of each other, glued and screwed them together. Then went on to put about 7 layers of urethane coat on it. All the knots are now filled and its is a smooth finish.
Click to expand...
I go that route next time. Give it a good sanding then seal it up.

.
 
Kitchen counter top

Having abandoned my darkroom for a photoshop workstation, I remodeled the available space for my reloading needs with plenty of storage space.
I installed a counter top and reinforced it underside. For the place where I wanted my presses, I had a 36" by 9" 3/16" thick steel plate cut and bent to fit the counter.
Radius is just about perfect and that longitudinal bend stiffens the plate a lot.
That counter top is really easy to clean and not a single powder grain can escape the eye.


Forster-Co-Ax.gif



I glued and screwed the plate to the counter top with countersunk screws.
All my presses are mounted on Lee's quick change bases and I installed two Lee benchplate stations.
All the other accessories (powder mesure stand, brass trimmer, etc...) have their respective anchor holes drilled and tapped so it is very easy to change setups and store all the unused items under the counter.
I also had a box made that fits in a dead space over the staircase just alongside my "powder room" and hides three vertical drawers for my powder, dies and... my old Mom's gardening powders and bug poisons ;)


Reloading-room-2.gif



I still have to design a wall mount for the stored presses.
Excuse the actual clutter, I'm just beginning to find time for cleanup and cataloguing before storage.
PP. :D
 
Andy said:
A good solid, inexpensive solution. I left mine unfinished - it's a working surface, and I didn't want it slippery, nor did I want a surface I'd feel compelled to refresh when damaged.
Click to expand...

Actually the stuff I used was a satin finish, so its not ultra-smooth glossy, it just fills the cracks and prevents slivers from forming on the countertop.
 
Skyhawk said:
For me, a bench top has to have a colour that contrasts against primers and lil' gun parts like tiny springs and pins so that they're easy to see. And it's important that the top isn't perfectly smooth so things don't slide off onto the floor too easily....
Click to expand...

To help keep track of those evasive little screws and springs I got a piece of magnetic sign vinyl from a sign shop. You have to put the "back" side (usually black in colour) up rather than whatever colour you get, as it's the back that is magnetic, but it really does help keep small parts from escaping onto the floor.

:) Stuart
 
Boy! Some great ideas! I am "planning" a nice, long reloading, tinkering, gun cleaning, whatever bench just outside the door of my gun room. I will definitely be referring to this thread. Keep the ideas coming.:)
 
Hmmm....
2x4 framing, with 3/4" pine and a sheet of 3/32 polycarbonate screwed down with brass in the corners. Cantilevered 2x12 with the presses mounted on them so that the presses can be easily removed and reinstalled if I need table space.
No metallic surfaces to prevent any sparking possible.

That lee press has been since been replaced with a L-n-L-AP with case feeder (New mounting holes on the opposite end of the 2x12 so that the lee can be reinstalled if I ever feel like it.).

IMG_0363.jpg
 
hk33ka1 said:
I have good one side 3/4" plywood for me top. Untreated. The only upgrade I could see is to a nicer wood sheet like, Maple. I have been very pleased with this surface.
Click to expand...


I used 2 3/4" sheets screwed and glued, top one is G1S oak with about 10 coats of satin urathane. Finished the edge with 5" solid oak backsplash. Most comments I get are "It's nicer than my dining room table":p
 
I prefer Arborite in a black and gray marble pattern. This nicely hides the spilled powder granules and cigarette ash, even hides a bit of spilled whiskey.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom